The first time I saw him (or remember seeing him) he played a great man. He died within 40 seconds of the first episode of the first season. He's worse than Kim Tae Hoon in some ways. And please, just one good leading man once in a while. We need it for our sanity. I was actually tweeting about the terrible ways in which he could outdo this role.
Oh yes please. I was actually very much not into Kim So Yeon before this, and she was my major worry for the cast, but it's good to see that I had just watched her in roles that didn't use her well. She's so lovely here, and I wish her another awesome work following this one. As for Song Yoon Ah, she can step on me any day, in any role. I'm trash for her and her neck muscles. It would be cool to see her work closely with Cha Hwa Yun again, because maaaaaan, that chemistry.

I think it would have made sense if he had been brought there against his will, but he seemed to own up to it. He also said he would spend his life in there. Be it "he finally did the honorable thing" or "killing yourself is cowardice", it's a very problematic statement on mental illness, and sadly villains are not the best place to explore its actual nuances and coupling with depression. It felt like a mandatory closure for audiences, so did Eun Yeong returning three months after her goodbye. I guess they just wanted a "neat" wrap up, and it's a shame his suicide was considered that.
Jeong Wan is the best cinnamon roll, and a great man of the law! I wish him many many promotions in the future.
The cast and crew had such a difficult schedule, and so did Hwang Ye Jin in writing this, but the end result was just amazing. Even if not in the form of live ratings, I hope the series gained and will gain a lot of love from fans. Ratings are fine, but I think it's more rewarding when the people who view your work become involved in it and touched by it, rather than passively viewing it as entertainment and a way to kill time. Thank you to the thread family here for being fellow ramblers! I hadn't visited the forums to post in years either, @Melody_06, and this was a great re-entry.

It's finally done! Thank you all so much for lovely conversations, for all the material posted (special thanks to powerhouse sharer and probable omnipresent deity @larus ), and for the company!
I'm mostly satisfied with the ending, given the time they had for it, and I think Hwang Ye Jin did an amazing job for her first work. I hope to see her work with this genre more in the future.
I do wish we had seen more of Min Joon and Yoon Jin's lives during the healing process, however. It's a whole new big topic, so I suppose they did not have time for it, but perhaps a 2-3 year time skip would have made more sense given their situation. As for Jae Yeol, I think he just snapped and went into a whole heartless level of denial, in which he has been consistently in. I think the final answer to this person's inner world was his visit to Min Joon's school. His eyes just glazed over and he recalled a happy (falsely so) memory. I think he has spent this time fooling himself that keeping it hidden well enough and working hard enough to provide would somehow make it all better. He was stupid on top of being morally skewed. But the problem is, his function as a villain did not allow him enough development for his mental erosion to seem more consistent and detailed.
The cast had a really challenging work in their hands, and they delivered so well. I'm still amazed by how one single consistent element from Cha Hwa Yun was essentially our answer for the culprit. Every time she would look sad after fighting with Yoon Jin, I could feel it. I think that moment of feeling guilt as a mother was her only display of humanity and an actual conscience. It's actually genius how alike she and Jae Yeol are. They clearly wrote them in a way where his upbringing's influence shows. They both march ahead with a completely twisted view of what needs to be done in order for things to be "ok", with no regard to the morality of their actions or the consequences. I'm just disappointed at the hinting of Jae Yeol killing himself, because it's a cliche, and because it does convey the wrong messages about depression and suicide. The whole "be honorable and end it" thing is a terrible mindset to push on people.
On a less heavy note, I squealed with the final OTP moments. Yeah, it was a neatly tied with a bow ending, but after everything they've been through, I'll take it. I think the series tried to focus on too much, but I admire the way in which they at least used their filler element (the other families) as part of the overall messages and theme. So yep, I'm on board Hwang Ye Jin's next one, if it's as promising. I'm going to go through all the goodies backlog on IG and other places now. Because I'm a masochist.

This is it, folks. The last preview! It looks like Seon Ja will get what's coming to her, and going by all the phones, ID and his ring on his desk, Jae Yeol might turn himself in? So both have probably done plenty of bad things. We know they're all sneaky with previews, so we'll see.
I'm going to go dark on social media searches for this (won't be here, won't look at the IG or Twitter tags) , in order to avoid ending spoilers, so I'll see you all on Sunday or Monday, after my reviews are done and I'm ready for post-finale ranting! Enjoy!

It's very sad, and this series is ruthless, so it will probably get even sadder at the end.
And you're welcome. @larus is always so great about posting updates, so I'm bringing in what I can during their absence.
Speaking of which, Ji An is such a delightful troll. Is she wet from the rain that fell that night, or did Jae Yeol give Hyeon Joo a little dip in the reservoir? They're really torturing us until the very end, aren't they?

This isn't the filming of an actual scene. The actors are just having dinner together after rehearsal, so the phone belongs to someone there (its screen shield needs changing, bit old and wrinkly). Her account posted photos from the food truck later (see below). Choi Na Rin is wearing the dress Min Ji has on during the night she was kidnapped though, so it was probably around the filming of that scene (her mom posted a shot from it today as well).
Though if that body of water behind her and Kim Tae Woo is an indication of a separate filming location, they might be filming what happened later. And Ji An was also filming near water, in a new outfit (also below). But these aren't necessarily related. Ji An might have filmed a scene from the present (if Hyeon Joo is alive). It's difficult to know what we look at when it comes to behind the scenes photos, since we don't know how close to the filming of a scene everyone is, or if they're all even wearing their filming clothing yet.
We have some shots of Song Yoon Ah from her agency's account as well.

It feels odd that there would be another person pretending to be Hyeon Joo though, especially so late in the story. Who was this "she", a she that Seon Ja and Jae Yeol clearly want to hide, who called Yoon Jin and pretended to be her, and why did she do that? Everything is pointing to someone being held at that hospital, who escaped and called Yoon Jin, first from a phone booth, and then from a woman's cell phone. With 4 episodes left, would they introduce a new character who is pretending to be Hyeon Joo? It makes more sense that it is actually her at this point.
And if she is, then Jae Yeol is lying (rather than thinking she's dead), because he clearly knows "she" called Yoon Jin. He and his mother both know this woman who escaped. So why would he willingly call himself the murderer of someone in order to keep hiding them? He clearly no longer cared about Hyeon Joo by that point a year ago. So the only thing that remains is that Hyeon Joo is a witness to something which would be worse for him to admit than having killed his mistress.
It doesn't really make sense for either Seon Ja or Jae Yeol to have killed Min Ji (even if by accident), but then I can't think of why they'd lock Hyeon Joo up and commit all of these crimes, as well as lie about it otherwise. And if it's a fake Hyeon Joo, it's too late to pull that one, and kind of silly to do it again. I also wonder why she called Yoon Jin's office. Why did she think Yoon Jin would help her? It's an odd choice to call the woman of the child you kidnapped for help. Then again, who would be more invested in locating Hyeon Joo than the woman who wants her to be alive the most aside from her sister, I suppose.
I really like the friendship as well. It's still understandable that they can't share everything though. Yoon Jin wants Hyeon Joo jailed, Eun Yeong is probably wishing she could leave with her for Canada. Or at the very least hear her out first before the family of the victim get their hands on her. Their connection is solid, but their duty to their individual family members is clashing.

I think, given what they've talked about so far, Jae Yeol knows Hyeon Joo is alive, if she actually is. He got that phone she used from his goon. Maybe that is why he was doing research into finding missing persons. Hyeon Joo must have been kept at that hospital and escaped, so he and his mother are looking for her. It was Seon Ja who called him and told him "She called Yoon Jin, look into it". The calls from the cell phone came from Umyeon, which is the same place the phone booth, and the hospital are located. And we know that hospital is affiliated with the terrible duo. The goons even have a van from it.
I'm just curious where she got that phone, since it belongs to someone whose address is in Daejeon. She couldn't have gotten it earlier, otherwise she would have first called from it, not from the phone booth. So first she made it to the phone booth, then she got someone's phone, and then that phone ended up with Jae Yeol's men. I wonder if this means they caught her already, or if she dropped it/returned it and they located it.
Min Ji is definitely dead though, we have enough evidence for it already, and it's clear from the way everyone talks and behaves. They've said it clearly, and she even has a tree burial site, with her date of death on it. Unless this goes completely off the rails and ignores the certainty with which this has been established and stated over and over again, we won't be getting the little one back.
As for who got her killed, Seon Ja's behavior doesn't really fit that scenario (she seems to be furiously protecting her son and their reputation), but would Jae Yeol even be functional now, if he had done such a thing? He's still my main suspect, because of the guilt and attachment he displays for Min Ji, and because his relationship with his mother doesn't seem distant at all, but it does feel odd that he'd be coping so well with that kind of a burden.
Whichever scenario takes place, some things don't fit in, it has to be said. I know Jae Yeol is terrible, but would be he having a pleasant conversation with his mother about her work (as we saw in earlier episodes) if she had been the one who killed his child? What parent wouldn't at least grow more cold and more distant with whoever did that? Unless Seon Ja doesn't know that he knows and he's just trying to not face it. But then why would they collaborate in hiding Hyeon Joo? Not sure. Something doesn't sit quite right in any scenario I can come up with that's plausible, and that the drama would probably dare go for.

That was in episode 6, when Jeong Wan and Yoon Jin went to the shopping mall where Eun Yeong's phone was reactivated. When she called her contact in Canada. Yoon Jin first went after a woman who was wearing purple, showing she was reliving the kidnapping incident. Then she grabbed a little girl thinking it was Min Ji. So there's definitely grounds for it, and she also had a panic attack when Min Joon was with Eun Yeong, but I think the drama just went with magical healing. As in, Eun Yeong's friendship "fixed" the PTSD.
Doesn't work that way in real life, but it just feels like an element they quickly brushed under the rug for the drama. Dramaland is bad with mental illness in general, and I think this was just to make us doubt her until the more accurate suspicions started forming. If this were not a Korean drama, I'd consider them capable of going for this outcome, but they usually avoid overly dark and tragic stuff for most shows. Most viewers would be very angry if the heroine we sympathize with had an unhappy ending. Korean dramas are very much into wish fulfillment and escapism. And they prefer their villains crystal clear, to cartoonish, caricature extremes.
I would be very impressed if someone dared to go for proper tragedy in such a story though. Not that Jae Yeol having done it isn't tragic enough, but they have worked so hard to make him very hateful. That's usually a sign they don't want to challenge viewers with someone who isn't black and white. It would be much more heavy if he were a good husband, man and father who truly made mistakes he regretted and tried to fix them for the sake of others, but in misguided ways. So everything is pointing to him being the easy-to-hate guilty party here.

This series is always about sisters before misters, cinnamon roll Jeong Wan has to wait for his well earned thanks.
For me, it's clear what Jae Yeol is hiding now, I'm just not sure whom he is hiding it for. Did he kill Min Ji? Did his mother? Seon Ja keeps looking almost sad whenever she confronts Yoon Jin, so my guess would be Jae Yeol. Seon Ja would look more guilty than sad if she had done it. And she wouldn't keep advising Yoon Jin to forget in this particular manner. She knows the truth is terrible.
Of course a cool twist that Dramaland would never do is if Yoon Jin herself really had accidentally done it, and replaced that in her mind as a result of PTSD. They did show her confusing Min Ji as alive once, and Jae Yeol was very ready to believe the other incident was the same, so they'd have enough of a basis for it. It would be tragic, but what a twist! But yep, Dramaland will never go there. So I'm guessing it's as simple as it seems, and it's Jae Yeol.

Finished the episodes and reviews, and boy, if the person calling was Hyeon Joo, then this is even more terrible than I thought. If Jae Yeol is lying about being her murderer, then what he has done must be even worse, and she was the witness to it. He probably accidentally killed his own daughter.
It wouldn't make sense for the person calling to be lying. It would be silly to fake us out twice, and who would need to fool Yoon Jin at this point? Seon Ja and Se Yeon already had their plans in place, this doesn't look like their doing. It looks like a goon from that hospital brought the phone Hyeon Joo used to Jae Yeol. So who is this mystery woman whose phone Hyeon Joo used, and how did they get that phone from her? I wonder if we've heard her name before.
On the other hand, the fact that the person did not react to Eun Yeong's voice is strange. It could be because she had to run away, but there's still that suspicious dead spot at the villa, and it makes more sense for the story if Hyeon Joo is dead. Jae Yeol gave the order to get rid of Eun Yeong to his goons, so it's not like he has any trouble killing people. He probably killed Hyeon Cheol as well. It escalated. But we'll see. Very emotional episodes. Very entertaining.

In a way, this is better! You'll be so close to the final episodes by then, you won't have to wait the whole week like we will. Take care and see you when you get back!
Looks like crew and cast are continuing to work hard and late on the remainder of the drama. Strength to them.

New stills and an article by SBS.
The article talks about the two heroines brought together by an urgent mysterious phone call, the phone call we heard Yoon Jin receive. The two women commence psychological warfare against Jae Yeol.
The piece gives a recap of Yoon Jin finding out that Jae Yeol used Hyeon Cheol's daughter's life to threaten him into lying about Eun Yeong being the hit-and-run suspect. Yoon Jin is determined to find the truth that the terrible duo have been hiding. On the same day that she received the ominous phone call, the car and evidence were found, so Yoon Jin stopped Eun Yeong from returning to Canada.
In episodes 25-28 Eun Yeong returns to discover the truth from one year ago. The two women look for evidence on the accident and Hyeon Joo's fate, while Jae Yeol is obviously incredibly pissed (HA! SUFFER!). Yoon Jin wants to stop Jae Yeol, Eun Yeong has a last chance to find her sister, and Jae Yeol is being backed into a corner by them. Fun fun fun!
And some making of goodness with Kim So Yeon, Song Jae Rim and Song Yoo Na.

They've so thoroughly emasculated Jae Yeol by now, that I'm pretty sure no amount of skin can achieve much.
And I'm also curious how Jae Yeol will react to that slap. Not only the slap, but his mother's words, where she's acting like Yoon Jin is overreacting over the affair. I'd have thrown her out of the house by that part, but he's probably just going to whine "Mother" again and escort either woman out like the piece of filth that he is.
As for the kidnapper trying to drug Eun Yeong, I believe he's one of the two men who tried to shove her into the car last time she was kidnapped. Going frame by frame on that, it's the same guy. So it's Seon Ja's men again. I do hope Eun Yeong will be discussing her moves with Yoon Jin and Jeong Wan from now on. But realistically, they won't kill either leading woman. I see death for Jae Yeol and possibly Seon Ja, or jail time for the latter.